Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Panel Urges Cautious Approach With Meningitis Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped short of recommending that all adolescents get the vaccine, instead leaving the decision up to individual doctors and their patients. The move comes after recent outbreaks of the disease at some university campuses.

The New York Times:
Health Panel Recommends Cautious Approach To Meningitis B Vaccine
A panel of health experts stopped short of recommending that all American adolescents and young adults be vaccinated against a dangerous strain of meningitis that has caused outbreaks at Princeton University and the University of California campus in Santa Barbara, opting instead to let doctors decide whether to give the vaccine. (Tavernise, 6/24)

The Seattle Times:
CDC Panel Falls Short Of Broadly Recommending Meningitis B Shots
Teens and young adults should get new vaccines to prevent potentially deadly meningitis B infections, but only through individual decisions, not routine recommendations, a federal panel of experts decided Wednesday. The 14-1 vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) falls short of the broad recommendation urged by parents whose children died from the disease and victims left disfigured or disabled. They said they feared the limited advisory will curtail wide access to the lifesaving shots. (Aleccia, 6/24)

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